The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-20

By.William T. Hornaday. author of 1.-TWO Years in
the Jungle. Copyrighted.
III.
s'Boys, it's a quarter past four!' called out as
ne light OF blazing match fell on the dial of
my watch. Up sprane everybody, and while
Mack cooked breakfast, we who were to 60
| fastened 20 feed and saddle our horses. With
more haste than ceremony we disposed of hearty
breakfast of juicy anteope-steaks and brown
gravy, pocketed half dozen bareback to lunch
upon, mounted our horses and trotted off, just
as the first faint glow of morning light dis
| tinguishable above the tops of the high ridges
east of u.s. And now let me introduce my cow
| boys
| This is Mr.. Irwin Boyd, the foreman Of my
"outft,' or in other words, my lieutenant, who
| takes the most responsibility in carrying out
the details of our work and the care of my
| stock He is twenty four years old, from Ne
braska, intelligent active, hard worker
earnest and honest, always good-natured and
| jolly, but bard rider. He has the keenest
/ eyes for sighting objects aheid, especially game
that ever saw in white man. All things con-
sidered, l shall always regard my selection of
| foreman as most happy one.
Mr.. Jim McNaney here is the old buffalo
hunter OF the party. Although only twenty
| six, he has spent four winters the buffalo
| range, and killed about 8, 200 head A buffalo
would need wings to ever get away from jim
| after he had once spotted 1T. He is not only the
| best shot in the party, but he understands the
| habits Of the animal most thoroughly. From
| first to last, our whole trip. Jim never let
| buffalo get away after once starting for it. l
believe be would chase one to Hudson's bay be-
| fore ne would give up and let it escape him.
And, what is more, he would ride his favorite
| horse to death after buffalo if the
! seemed to require it. 1t was lucky thing for
me when Boyd hunted Jim up at Miles City
| and engaged him to 20 with US. for, without
| him. we would have only half as many as we
finally got.
| And this man with the handsome black mus
| tache is Mr.. L. S. Russell, Texas cowboy, who
halls from Michigan. He is of the jolliest
| fellows imaginable moro lively than a negro
| minstrel and great joker. Like Boyd and me
he had his record a buffalo hunter yet to
| make. and he was very nbitious that his lend
| should be kept up."
1t was raw, cold morning. and the clouds
| looked like snow. Shortly after sunrise we
| found the trail of our seven buffalo at the head
| of Calf creek, and began to follow it due south
| We left the rugged butte country behind US
and entered a tract of country the like of which
| never saw before and hope never TO see again.
| 1t was composed of a succession OF rolling hills
and deep hollows smooth enough on the surface
to look at but like desert Of sand-hills to get
over. The soil was loose and crumbly, like so
much ashes. land the horses hoofs sank in it half
way to the fetlocks at every step But there
| cracked and scanned with a perfect net
work of great cracks, from two to four
| inches wide. into which the horses stepped
| every yard or two, and sank down stil further,
with many a tiresome wrench to the joints. 1t
| was terrible ground. To make matters as bad
as possible a thick growth of sage brush, or else
| grease wood, was everywhere present for the
! horses to struggle through, and when it came to
dragging loaded wagon across that twelve
mile tract of "bad grounds "gumbo ground,
or 'hels bottom as We sometimes called it in
our anger it was killing work.
| We followed the trail closely, as fast our
horses could GO through that awful ground, and
by noon had crossed the head of Taylor
creek, tributary of the Musselshell. Immedi-
ately south of it was a two mile tract of smooth
ground with standing grass upon it, backed by a
stretch of rugged. high, and wild looking butte
country We had very difficult work to carry
the trail through that standing grass. and when
1t finally led into the bad lands, where the
ground was hard as iron and only buffalo grass
grew, we had to give it up entirely.
At high noon Jim and Boyd halted on the top
of a lofty ridge to look the country with the
glass for about the fiftieth time that day, and
Russell and unsaddled at a point mile from
there, to rest our horses and let them Craze
while ate our lunch We had scanned the
whole country with our glass again and again
and there was not living thing in sight
Presently we saw Boyd and Jim mount Their
horses aud come trotting swiftly along the ridge
toward US.
We've spotted the buffalo," cried Boyd, a.
| they rode up
Where awayT
'Do you see that high butte yonder with tn,
rocky topT He pointed east at butte abou
two miles away.
Yes
'Well, the buffalo are lying down in littl,
| conlie just this side of that
Good! Well rest our horses a lite longer
- then up and at them"
a Two miles of rugged ravines and deep couie.
}, lay between and the game. which not t
ne seen from where we then were nor from tn.
Z higher point either without the glass. We LEI
our horses craze and rest during the remainde
of the hour while we lay at full length tn,
carpet of buffalo grass, and then we saddled u,
| and made ready.
Now, JIM" said 'you are the old bufao
| hunter. you take the lead and we will follow
| you. Let's get good standing shot at them i
| possible, then for the chase. When we fire from
the ground let the men the right and lef
take the buffalo on their own sides, that ",
won't all shoot at the same one. Now, go ahead
Jim led the way. and we followed in Indal
file. We rode down into coue that ran east
and followed along its bad for some distance
We crossed ridges. rode along moro coulies. ant
when close to our game came to one that haf
fine water in it. it was just what we wanted
and we let horses drink while we gladly re
freshed ourselves ALSO In the last coulie, tn
one next to where the buffalo wer
lying, we left our horses, stalked carefully u
to the top of the next ridge, and looked over
all ready to fire. No buffalo! Then we eau
tiously climbed up to a high point the side q
the tall butte, and again looked over. l locke
across deep basin to the top Of rather low
fat-topped butte, two hundred and fifty yard
away, and caught a glimpse of some dar
objects lying on its top. Those must be rocks
I thought.
Down, fellers! Git down! Git down oucl
There they are!' said Jim, in thrilling STAG
whisper
Buffalo at last, by Jove! We crouched dow
and sneaked back. Back we ran to our horse
sprang into our saddles and rode through MOI
coulies, and up to the very foot of the butte O
which the little herd was lying. Once more "
dsmounted. threw reins over our horee
heads. and the faithful brutes began to nibbe
the short grass while we stalked quickly ND th